1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a terminal locking structure for an electrical connector.
2. Related Art
In the field of electrical connectors for cable connections using electrical socket and plug connectors, such as electrical cable connectors for solar panels, a cylindrical terminal 20 provided with a lance 22a on the outer circumference thereof is inserted into an insertion part 112 of a housing 111 and the lance 22a are locked in a locking part 114 as shown in FIG. 7, for example.
In this case, the locking part 114 is formed in a stepped shape over the entire inner circumference thereof, and thus the direction in which the terminal is inserted is not limited but the lances can be properly locked by inserting the terminal at any angle around the circumference of 360 degrees.
If, however, a region 15 without any locking part is present because the locking part 14 for lances cannot be provided owing to restriction in fitting with a counterpart connector, strength setting, or the like as shown in FIG. 1, for example, there is a problem that the terminal cannot be locked and held in the housing if lances are inserted toward the region 15 without any locking part.
Furthermore, if the terminal is turned after locking the terminal in the housing, the lances may come off and detach from the locking part.
JP 2005-158330 A discloses, in a method for attaching a terminal into a housing, a technique of providing a positioning protrusion that comes in contact with the housing when the terminal is incorrectly inserted, so as to prevent incorrect insertion. This technique, however, does not guide the terminal so that the terminal is inserted in a proper direction.